Prazosin in the diagnosis and treatment of pheochromocytoma
J. M. Wallace and D. P. Gill
In a patient with paraganglioma, severe hypertension due to high levels of
plasma norepinephrine was easily controlled with prazosin hydrochloride, 6
to 8 mg/day for 19 days before surgery. A prolonged antihypertensive
response to the first two 1-mg doses suggested the presence of
pheochromocytoma. This experience dramatizes the remarkable effectiveness
of prazosin as a postsynaptic alpha-adrenergic receptor blocker and invites
further trials of the drug for both the diagnosis and treatment of
pheochromocytoma.
